I will also say you I did not have a very good experence going in....like you I was middle aged....but I was kinda fat balding wearing glasses. I walked into the first store and it was like I walked onto mars.....there where people there that had more ink on them then the news paper I read that morning....and more holes in them with bits hanging out...it was like the WTF thread had come to life.....and they are all kids. I walked around....looked at stuff for 30minutes with no one talking to me, and after turning to leave the only normal one in the store asked if I needed any help....all I said was not any more thanks.

I was about to wright off the entire guitar buying and playing and remembered there is a little shop next to the DMV...It is on my way home and I told the wife, if this place tanks I will just say the hell with it all....I walked in and an guy (older than me) asked if I needed any help....the front door had not even closed yet. I was amazed at this place, people that looked human, a nice man and his wife (owners) and a cleen cut kid working there....and I was helped right off the bat.

I told them I knew nothing, but knew the sounds I liked, Brian Setzer, old time rock and roll...and they showed me a few things....a Dot, Gretsch, Casino....they really helped, and I bought the gretsch. These people spend about 3hrs with me to buy a $600 guitar that I doubt they made $200 on. They could not be more friendly if they tried. There is another small shop near where I work...same experence...great place.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffy

I wouldn't write off GC. Keep in mind that some brands require the store to have a fairly large stock on hand which a mom & pop can't always do. Those brands will also void their warranty if you don't buy them through authorized dealers.

Guitar Centers and Sam Ash both out here are always polite and helpful from jump. It may be due to the area and the abundance of seasoned players. You just never know what old band you've never heard of had that old guy as the lead guitarist or who just might be a top studio musician, or an instructor at the Musicians Institute.

I was in CG in Sherman Oaks one afternoon looking at a Tele with a B-bender, and an older guy (60s?(my age) 50s at least) was tearing it up on a Strat. He was doing surf, rock, rock-a-billy, jazz, country chicken-pickin' and never breaking a sweat. The kids there who could only play power chords at 11 and scream into the mics were dumbfounded. How could an old guy be so good on the guitar, and how did he get all those sounds? It got even better when I started playing back up to him and a bass player came over and the jam session really took off. His wife/girlfriend started singing. Oh yeah, it was nice.

How could an old guy be so good on the guitar, and how did he get all those sounds? It got even better when I started playing back up to him and a bass player came over and the jam session really took off. His wife/girlfriend started singing. Oh yeah, it was nice.

Yeah, sometimes it's fun to be an old guy

jdg

You have to be old to jam in a guitar shop now?

I've found the acoustic rooms tend to be where it gets goofy, people busting out shakes and tamborines and all sorts of silliness.

For reference I used to work in a Guitar shop when I was like 16-17, essentially $8 an hour to either practice or jam, damn shame that was.

__________________

Quote:

Originally Posted by RottenScummyTroll

Show folks something with a clutch and carburetor, and it's like teaching a baboon to use a Macbook.

Nah, it's just that most of the younger crowd are more interested in impressing themselves and whoever they brought along with them than jamming. Guys with nothing to prove are just having fun, enjoying life and enjoy sharing with others. Bluegrass players are like that as well. The more that join in, the more fun it is.

It was not my intent to bad mouth GC....just the level of service I have gotten in there just has not been there. Also I like the little guy....I just bought a boss RC3...199 at GC, 199 at the little shop....same money I would rather give to the little guy....but that is just me.

There are actually 2 GC stores in town the shops are very different.....just goes to show it is the staff that makes the difference.

I have also been going back looking at Casino's and Dots.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffy

I wouldn't write off GC. Keep in mind that some brands require the store to have a fairly large stock on hand which a mom & pop can't always do. Those brands will also void their warranty if you don't buy them through authorized dealers.

Honestly, I have no problems going into a GC with all the other people. I end up walking into the Platinum room wich is usually empty anyway. That's where they keep their more expensive guitars. If anyone's in there a sales person will quickly appear out of nowhere. You can usually get 10-15% off if you ask for it as well. I'd get one sealed though. The ones they have hanging out front get handled a lot.

If I was buying an electric, I'd probably get a Squier Telecaster Classic Vibe Custom and a Blues Junior III tube amp. Or maybe a Gibson Les Paul Junior, Special or a Studio and the same amp. Would be really nice for blues/rock and a solid setup. I recommend not going cheap on the amp as that's another part of the voice of the guitar. A steril amp will make even a good guitar sound bad.

I've thought about getting a Casino but I think I'd want a ES-335 or maybe the smaller ES-339 for some rockabilly action. I keep dumping money into my Les Paul though. I'm thinking about changing the Tone-pro's bridge and tail piece with a Callaham.

__________________[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']Calling an illegal alien an 'undocumented immigrant'
is like calling a drug dealer an 'unlicensed pharmacist[/FONT]

Jeffy, I was looking at the Deluxe Reverb before I bought a 410 DeVille about 5 years ago. It must sound great with that guitar. Is that an American Standard Strat? I've got a 1995 model that looks a lot like that with the white pickguard and the yellowed pickups and control knobs.

Jeffy, I was looking at the Deluxe Reverb before I bought a 410 DeVille about 5 years ago. It must sound great with that guitar. Is that an American Standard Strat? I've got a 1995 model that looks a lot like that with the white pickguard and the yellowed pickups and control knobs.

Jeffy, I was looking at the Deluxe Reverb before I bought a 410 DeVille about 5 years ago. It must sound great with that guitar. Is that an American Standard Strat? I've got a 1995 model that looks a lot like that with the white pickguard and the yellowed pickups and control knobs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffy

That's bug67's rig.

The Strat is a 1957 American Vintage Re-Issue. It sounds fantastic through the Deluxe Reverb! My Les Paul sounds great through it too.

I got it because I was looking for a low watt tube amp I could crank without shattering windows. It turns out, 22 watts on "10" rattles 'em pretty damn good!
Oh, that butter smooth tube driven overdrive!

The Strat is a 1957 American Vintage Re-Issue. It sounds fantastic through the Deluxe Reverb! My Les Paul sounds great through it too.

I got it because I was looking for a low watt tube amp I could crank without shattering windows. It turns out, 22 watts on "10" rattles 'em pretty damn good!
Oh, that butter smooth tube driven overdrive!

Hands down, best amp I've ever heard.

I'm using 5w ( Blackstar Tube amp) and it's too loud for my house. I'm sure 22w is something you could gig if you want to. Does it have a master vol? That would make a huge difference. My HT-5 doesn't have one so to get the tubes to sing you have to crank it.

I'm using 5w ( Blackstar Tube amp) and it's too loud for my house. I'm sure 22w is something you could gig if you want to. Does it have a master vol? That would make a huge difference. My HT-5 doesn't have one so to get the tubes to sing you have to crank it.

With the Strat, things start really happening around 6. The Les Paul with it's hotter pickups, 4 is the starting point. It just gets better from there. Very responsive to the guitar's volume knob and my attack. Gigging isn't going to be a problem with this amp.

Forgot to post this. If it's correct, there's going to be a lot of changed with the Gibson Lineup. Not sure if I agree with them all.

The only one I do like is that the Traditional are not going to have a Vintage body with no weight-relieves or chambering. Other then that I don't really care for all the name changing. A 2013 USA Quilt Top Standard is only $300 less then a Custom Shop 1958 Reissue VOS is crazy. The regular USA Standard is only $2599 and is the exact same thing minus the quilt top.

now you've done it..I've been biting it back as I just bought a new guitar like 2 weeks ago but a $499 Gibson SG was just too good to pass up. This 70's tribute SG just showed up today, spent a couple hours with it. Great little no frills guitar that sounds pretty good and meaty with some drive going into the amp. I think between the SG and the Telecaster I'm pretty good now.

I've primarily always been into single coils before, I have a Epiphone SG Custom Shop that I never really took too. the pickups always sounded muddy no matter how I adjusted them. This 70's though is a lot cleaner sounding and seems to have better definition. It's also probably 2lbs lighter than the epiphone and has a little beefier neck. Definitely digging this guitar so far, it's a keeper.